Cushioning mechanism



Feb. 13, 1934. E. F. MECHLIN CUSHIONING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 24. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1V Q m 5% n, Q

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Patented Feb. 13, 1934 i UNITED STATES PATENTl OFFICE 1,947,301 cUsHioNfNo MEcnANIsM' Ernest F. Meebiin, Washington, D.V o., essignor to The Syming'ton Company, New Yorl-ii, N. Y., a corporation' of Maryland Appiioation February 24, 1931'. seriei'No'. 517,968

6 claims. (ci. 21e-22)' This invention relates to railway draft rigging, draft gears in side elevatiomportions being shown andy more pewtiouleoqy,Y to` an arrangement inin section to more clearly illustrate the convolvinga plurality of cushioning means or destruction.

vices so disposed that a greater drawbar travel Flgllle 2 1S a Partial planand partial horizontal 5; and cushioning effect is provided for bufling forces Sectional View Showing the arrangement illus- 6o' than for draft forces. trated in Figure 1 on one side of the longitudinal The principal object of my invention, generally Gehrer4 lineconsidered, is the provision of draft rigging in- Flgure 3 isafragmentary vleW Corresponding to' volving a vertical yoke embracing a cushioning Fleur@ 2, but Showing hOW a Standard yoke and device, preferably comprising afriction draft gear fr1Ct1 0I1 draft geanmay be substituted for the 65 adapted to cushion draft and buiiing forces, a CuSilOimg deVCeS Illustrated 1n Flgure cushioning device, preferably in the form of a Flgllres 4 and 5 arev views corresponding, Ifefriction draft gear of smaller capacity,v being SpeCfflVelX, t FlgllleS 1 and 2, but ShOWni a v disposed behind the yoke and lying in a plane at mOQlflCatlOnL V" right angles to the plane of the first-mentioned Flgllle 6, 'l and 3 are diagrams representing 7o cushioning device, and partially embraced by a' the cuehlo'nmg ffeel" of' the mam and auxiliary device connecting the sills and adapted to funcgears Slnglyand 111Ser1eS tion as a center filler casting, said last-mentioned Referring t0 '011e dl'aWlIlgS in detail, like' Darts ,cushioning device being adapted to provide an being designated by like reference characters, and bfggsonmg e tion illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, there is Another objeot of my' invention is to provide shown a main cushioning device or friction draft a Supplemental draft gear disposed between the gear 1, an auxiliary cushioning device or friction rear end of an associated yoke and a center filler dafteear 2 mounted betweenv draft or center sills 25 oasi-n Said supplementen gear being of smaner 3 of an associated railway Vehicle, the main or so vertieeidimension at its rear endA than at its front cushioning means 14 being normally embraced by an associatedvertical-yoke 4. The yoke front, whereby said rear end is adapted to be supported from the oenter nner Casting and dis is connected to an associated drawbar or coupler posed above the bottoms of the sills with the front 5 by merma of a horizontal draft key 6 passing ond extending below the bottoms of said sins and through registenne slots 'i m the drawbar, 8 inthe 85,

Supported on o oerry iron yoke, and having its ends received in correspond- A further objeot of my invention, is to provide ing'slots 9 in cheek plates 10 and/or sills 3 of the a draft rigging involving a vertical yoke einbrac- Vehlcle- Sad f hfiek plates may, if deeired, be

ng a, friet-ron draft gear operable on both buff rearward extensions of a striking casting and and draft, in oombination with a suppiementoi Sill rie member', Such as indicated at 11 in Fg- @c dly of. the yoke and operable ures 4 ando, said casting being formed with an gear disposed rearwar Y i o only on bum Said Supplemental gear being em aaertire 12 receiving the drawbar or coupler s em.V

braced by a center filler casting formed with lugsY extending forwardly on either side of said gear The mtelmedlate DOIIOHS Offhe SillS 3, o r and adapted to function as rear stop ings for the those rearwardly 0f the auxiliary gear 2, are o5 forward gear and as means for limitingV forward Connected by a center filler 0r balckstop member. movement of the rear follower for said gear, preferably formed aS a Casting 13 and provided which rear follower also functions as a front withY a/ thimble 14 adapted to receive a king pin fouower for the supplemental gem: (not shown- .Y The casting 13 is`desirably`formed "5 Other objects and advantages of the invention with forwardly extending lug portions 15 adaptedv 10o relating to the particular arrangement and conto function as rear'stop's' for theyoke 4, and asstruction of the various parts will become apsociated gear l', and embrace the rear or auxiliary parent as thedescription proceeds. gear 2.`

Referring" to the drawings illustrating my in- The main or frontgear 1 desirably comprises a vention, the scope whereof is defined by the'aphousing or casing 16, one end, which; in the ein: 105 pended claimszbodiment'disclosed is the front end, being open Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section taken and provided with rearwardly convergingy faces between the draft or center sills of a railway veay l'leither on the casing 16 or on separable blocks hicle and showing one embodiment of my draft 18'interlocked therewith. Said'faces 1'7 arenorrigging withassociated cushioning devices or mally'engaged by correspondinglyinclned or an'- 110A ffeot for the absorption of first considering the embodiment of my invengularly positioned surfaces 19 on associated friction wedges or blocks 20, the inner ends of said blocks desirably interlocking with respect to the housing or members 18, as by having lugs or shouldered portions 2l overlying corresponding portions on the housing or members 18. The friction blocks 20 are held in engagement with the housing or friction shoes 18 by resilient means such as curved plate springs 22. Release of the gear is eifected, in the embodiment disclosed, by curved plate release springs 23 acting on an intermediate follower 24 and divided into three groups, the groups which are concave toward one another being separated by a spacer or filler plate 25. The intermediate follower 24 directly engages the inner ends of the friction wedges 20. A front follower 26 is preferably disposed between the rear end of the drawbar 5 and the front ends of the friction blocks 20, said front follower being limited in forward movement by lug portions 27 desirably formed adjacent the rear ends of the cheek plates 10.

The yoke-acting means 4 which embraces the gear 1 desirably has the rear end portion 28 which connects the arms 29 thereof provided with a rear face 30 which is desirably flat and of relatively great area, as illustrated, for transmitting buii'ing force received from the housing 16 through the associated rear follower 31 to the preferably vertically alined friction elements or wedges 32 of the rear or auxiliary gear 2. Said wedges 32 are desirably relatively movable vertically and formed with rearwardly converging friction faces 33 engaging correspondingly inclined faces 34 on the housing or friction casing 35 of the gear 2, said friction faces being desirably disposed at a suiiiciently obtuse angle, preferably more obtuse than that of the main gear, so that the associated curved plate springs y35 may effect release of the gear without the necessity of additional or release springs, such as used in the housing 16 of the gear 1. Said friction faces 33 and 34 are desirably supplemented by rearwardly disposed friction faces 37 on the wedge blocks and engaged surfaces 38 on the housing, said auxiliary surfaces being separated from the main friction surfaces by shouldered portions 39 en the wedge blocks and 40 on the housing for effecting interlocking between the wedge blocks'and housing for limiting outwardA movement of said wedge blocks.

The rear end of the yoke-acting means 4 and associated draft gear l, the rear follower 31 and the front end of the auxiliary gear housing 35 are desirably supported by a carry iron 41. front end of the yoke and corresponding portion of the gear 1, the front follower 26 and the drawbar 5 may be supported in a similar manner and/or by the key 6. The rear draft gear housing 35 is desirably formed with its rear end of less vertical height than the front end, said front and rear ends being desirably joined by rearwardly converging walls 42. Thus, the lower portion of the rear end of the housing is desirably disl. posed above the lower edge of the sills 3 and supported on a forwardly extending web or flange 43 on the center ller casting 13, a transverse wall 44 forwardly of the king pin thimble 14 normally engaging the rear face of the housing 35 and functioning as a backstop therefor.

The forwardly extending portions 15 of the center ller casting 13 and the forwardly extending underlying ledge 43 form a` pocket which receives the housing 35 of the gear 2 and holds it in position with respect to the sills. The front ends of in engagement with The the portions l5 which function as rear stop means for the yoke 4 and associated front gear 1 are desirably notched rearwardly of the front faces thereof, as indicated at 45, to form front stop means for the follower 31, said follower, for that purpose, being notched, as indicated at 46, to provide corresponding stop shoulders on the rearmost portion 47 thereof, which is preferably wider than the forwardly extending portion 48 which is normally disposed in engagement with the rear face of the yoke 4. The lugs or extensions 15 are desirably secured to the sills as by means of rivets 49 and made amply strong to function for the purposes above set forth.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a relatively great amount of travel and cushioning effect is provided for the drawbar or coupler when acted on by bufflng forces, that is, a movement sufficient to compress both gears 1 and 2. If the front gear has a compressive movement of 2% and the auxiliary gear a similar movement, provision for 5 buiing and 21/2" pulling movement must be effected. For this reason, the slots 9 in the cheek plates 10 and sills 3 are elongated a considerable amount, which, in the present embodiment, extends rearwardly of the rear faces of the lugs 27, as shown most clearly in Figure 2.

In Figure 3 there is shown a gear 50 which is longer than the gear 1 and has been substituted for the gears 1 and 2 shown in -Figures 1 and 2, a standard vertical yoke 5l having been substituted for the relatively short vertical yoke 4, but the construction otherwise being the saine. In other words, the sill, backstop and cheek plate arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2 may be adapted to either accommodate a pair of gears 1 and 2 in series, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, or a standard or longer gear 50 disposed between the front follower 26 and front stop lugs 27 and 'the extensions 15 from the center filler casting 13 functioning as rear stops for the housing 52 of said gear 50, the rear end of said yoke 51 and housing 52 being desirably supported by the carry iron 41, as in Figures 1 and 2. Although the gear 50 is shown as involving friction wedges 53 held correspondingly inclined friction surfaces 54 on the housing by curved plate springs 55, coil springs 56 and an intermediate follower 57 being employed to effect release, it will be understood that other gears of corresponding outside dimensions may be employed instead, if desired.

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, an arrangement is there disclosed involving a main cushioning device or friction draft gear 1a and an auxiliary cushioning device or friction draft gear 2a mounted between draft or center sills 3a of an associated railway vehicle, the main or front cushioning means la being normally embraced by an associated vertical yoke 4e, which yoke is connected to an associated drawbar or coupler 5a, as by means of a horizontal draft key 6a passing through registering slots 7a in the drawbar, 8a in the yoke, and with its ends received in corresponding slots 9a in the cheek plates lo@ and/or sills 3@l of the vehicle. The cheek plates in the present embodiment are shown as rearward extensions or continuations of the combined striking casting and sill tie member 11 previously referred to.

The intermediate portions of the sills 3a rearwardly of the rear gear 2a are connected by a center ller member 13a, which member, as in the previous embodiment, is desirably formed with forwardly extending lug portions 15a adapted to function as rear stops for the main or front gear le and embrace the rear or auxiliary gear 2a.

The main or front gear 1a desirably comprises a housing or casing 16a enclosing spring and friction elements 22a and 20a, as in the first embodiment. A front follower .26a is desirably disposed between the rear end of the drawbar 5a and the front ends of the friction blocks 20e, said frontconnects the arms 27e provided with a rear face 30a formed fiat and of relatively great area for transmitting buiing forces received from the housing 16a through the associated rear follower 31a to the preferably vertically alined friction elements or wedges 32a of the rear or auxiliary draft gear 2a. Said wedges 32a are desirably relatively movable vertically and formed with rearwardly converging friction faces engaging correspondingly inclined friction faces on a housing or casing 35a, as in the previous embodiment, curved plate springs 36a being employed to hold said friction elements in engagement with the housing.

The rear end of the yoke-acting means le and associated draft gear 1e, the rear follower 31e and the front of the auxiliary gear 2a are desirably supported by a carry iron 39e, as in the previous embodiment. The front end of the yoke and corresponding portion of the gear 1a, the drawbar 5a and the front follower 26a are desirably supported on a front carry iron 59. The rear draft gear housing 35a is desirably formed with its rear end of less vertical height than its front endand supported on a forwardly extending web or plate 43a which may be the bottom bolster cover plate. A transverse web or wall 44e on the center filler casting 138v functions as the backstop for the gear 2a. As in the previous embodiment, the extensions 15a on the center filler casting 13a not only function as rear stop means for the front gear 1a, but are also provided with shouldered portions 45a functioning as front stop means for the rear follower` 31e, thereby preventing said follower from being displaced when the yoke moves forwardly underthe action` of draft forces. The surfaces, of the webs or flanges providing the shouldered portions 45a, which face one another, desirably lie close to the rear portion of the yoke-acting means 4a for guiding purposes.

Referring now to Figures 6, 7 and 8, there are showndiagrams representing the cushioning action of the shock-absorbing devices or front and rear draft gears 1 and 2 or la and 2a. Figure 6 represents particularly the cushioning effect of the front gear 1a acting by itself, the energy absorbed in closing through a distance 9d to a final closing resistance 4f being represented by a triangle with a base 9d and an altitude 4f, the energy absorbed being 18df. Figure '7 shows a similar diagram for the other gear 2a and shows the amount of energy absorbed by closing said gear through a distance 7d to a final closing resistance 3f, it being assumed that the gear 2a has a final closing resistance of three-fourths or '75% of the closing resistance of the front gear, and that the movement to complete closure is seven-ninths of the movement to complete closure of the front gear. For example, the front gear may have a closing movement of 21/4 and the rear gear a closing movement of 1%, allowing a total movement of the drawbar on buff of 4". Under such circumstances, the energy absorbed by the supplemental gear would be lOl/2M.

Figure 8 represents the action of the two gears in series or when the coupler is subjected to buing forces, the work absorbed, when so acting, being represented by a four-sided figure roughly approximating a triangle, with a base 16d and an altitude 4f, the work absorbed, however, being the sum of the areas of the triangles of Figures 6 and 7, or equal to 281/2, the break in what would be the hypothenuse of the triangle occurring upon complete closure of the supplemental gear 2a, as indicated by the reference character 60, when the gear 1a engages the auxiliary backstop means or front ends of the arms 15a. The energy absorbed when the drawbar is subjected to draft forces is, of course, represented by the triangle of Figure 6, or that for the single gear la.

From the foregoing disclosure, it will be seen that I have devised railway draft rigging and associated cushioning mechanism of such a character that on buff the drawbar acts on the front mechanism which energizes the rearwardly dis- 5 or 5a, upon moving rearwardly, pushes the front follower 26 or 26a with it, moving the friction blocks 20 or 20a into the gear housing 16 or 162L compressing the front mechanism 1 or 1e, and simultanenously effecting rearward movement of the yoke l or lla, the follower 31 or 31a, and pushing the friction elements 32 or 32a into the housing 35 or 35a, whereby compression of both gears in series is effected.

On account of having the front gear arranged with its greater transverse dimension horizontal, and the rear gear arranged with its greater transverse dimension vertical, said front gear is conveniently disposed between the vertically spaced arms 27 or 27a of the yoke and guided between the sills 3 or 3e, while the rear gear is conveniently disposedv between the forwardly disposed portions 15 or 15a of the backstop and center filler casting 13 or 13a, and the friction elements 32 or 32a are acted upon through direct compressive forces on the rear follower 31 or 31a rather than upon the application of bending forces to said follower. On draft, the cushioning mechanism of the main or front gear 1 or 13 only is utilized. Although I have shown the front or main gear as preferably of higher cushioning capacity and in the second embodiment as having a greater amount of travel to full compression, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to this, if desired, the cushioning action and the movement to full compression of the gears may be the same, or different, as desired'.

Although I have disclosed preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:-

1. In railway draft rigging, in combination with draft sills, a casting connecting said sills and having a main backstop portion and arms, serving as auxiliary backstop means, extending for- Cia wardly therefrom leaving a cushioning mechanism pocket therebetween, a rear cushioning device disposed in said pocket, a front follower for said device, said arms having rearwardly facing shoulders normally engaged by said follower to hold it in position with respect to said device and limit forward movement thereof, a yoke with vertically spaced arms and a connecting portion with a rear face normally engaging said follower, a front cushioning device of greater capacity than said rear cushioning device disposed between the arms of said yoke, the rear face of said cushioning device being normally disposed forwardly of the front ends of said auxiliary backstop means, a drawbar acting on said cushioning device on buff, and means connecting said drawbar and yoke for the transmission of draft forces, whereon on buf said front cushioning device is not stopped by said auxiliary backstop means until a substantial movement has taken place, so that said front cushioning device and rear cushioning device act in series until the front device engages the arms of said backstop, when said front device alone serves as cushioning means for the remainder of the bufng force, while on draft only the front device is effective.

2. In railway draft rigging, in combination with draft sills, a drawbar, yoke-acting means having vertically spaced arms, front cushioning means disposed between said arms, rigid front stop means connected to said sills, means connecting said drawbar and yoke-acting means for the transmission of draft forces, a follower disposed rearwardly of said yoke-acting means, means connecting said sills and provided with a main backstop portion and arms serving as backstop means for said outer cushioning means, said arms having surfaces facing one another between which the rear portion of said yoke-acting means is guided, and rearwardly facing surfaces functioning as front stop means for said follower, said arms and main backstop portion providing a cushioning mechanism pocket, rear cushioning means disposed in said pocket between said arms, said front cushioning means being normally spaced from said arms a distance equivalent to the permissible compression movement of said rear cushioning means, the compression stroke of each cushioning means being limited, whereby the total compression on buif is equal to the combined compression stroke of said two means, said yoke-acting means during draft transmitting the actuating force from said drawbar to said front cushioning means only, whereby the draft stroke is limited to the permissible compression stroke of said front cushioning means.

3. En railway draft rigging, in combination with draft sills, a casting connecting said sills and formed with a front face normally functioning as a main backstop portion, and a flange extending forwardly from the lower portion of said face for supportingly engaging an associated cushioning device, said casting also having arms extending forwardly from the sides thereof and connected to said sills, the forward portions of said arms having front faces adapted to function as auxiliary backstop means, a drawbar disposed between said sills, yoke-acting means having vertically spaced arms connected to said drawbar, a short cushioning device horizontally disposed between the arms of said yoke-acting means, front stops for said cushioning device connected to said sills, a follower normally engaging the rear end of said yoke-acting means and another short cushioning device vertically disposed between said follower and said arms and main backstop portion of the casting, said auxiliary cushioning device comprising a housing with its rear end supported on thev flange of said casting, a carrier simultaneously supporting the front end of said casting, said follower, and the rear end of said yoke, and another carrier supporting the front end of said yoke, the distance between the auxiliary backstop faces of the casting and the front stops being such that the yoke, follower, and both of said cushioning devices may be removed and replaced by a standard yoke and draft gear, the rear end of which normally engages said auxiliary backstop means for limiting rearward movement thereof.

4. In combination with the draft sills of a railway vehicle, a casting comprising a transversely extending portion with a forward face serving as a backstop, arms extending forwardly therefrom and connected to said sills, a cushioning device mounted between said arms and normally abutting said forward face, and a front follower for said cushioning device, said casting having rearwardly facing shoulders on said arms cooperating with said follower to limit forward movement thereof.

5. A backstop and center filler casting comprising side webs adapted for connection to associated sills, a door portion connecting the lower portions of said webs, and a generally vertical transverse web connecting intermediate portions thereof, completing a cushioning device pocket and forming a main backstop portion, said floor portion extending out from said transverse web for the support of the rear end portion of an associated cushioning device, said side webs extending forwardly of the front edge of said floor portion to embrace the cushioning device and formed with forwardly facing shoulders adapted to function as auxiliary backstop portions and rearwardly facing shoulders adapted to limit forward movement of an associated follower.

6. A backstop casting comprising a transversely extending wall adapted to receive puffing forces from an associated cushioning device and side portions extending forwardly from said wall, adapted for connection with associated sills, and to embrace said cushioning device, the forward faces of said extensions being adapter to receive buffing shocks from associated draft rigging, shouldered portions being provided extending inwardly of said side portions adjacent the ends thereof to function as means for limiting forward movement of an associated follower, and a flange portion extending forwardly from said buiiing wall for the support of an associated cushioning device.

ERNEST F. MECHLTN. 

